What I Learned From Living With Monks in Thailand

It was one of the most boring experiences of my life—but so worth it!

On a daily basis my head is quite fully occupied, whether I'm thinking about what to eat for my next meal, the e-mails I need to answer, a new project or how I'll finish my to-do list. Especially in our world of data, there is always something more to check or catch-up on, with hardly any moments of rest in-between. Even on the toilet I watch Youtube! This creates a condition that I like to call "monkey mind:" the result of too many random things going through my head, and my inability to control any of them. I start to think about something and before I know it, one hour (at least) has gone by.

I recently decided it was time to learn how to better control my mind, so I went on a Buddhist retreat in Thailand and immersed myself in the practice of Vipassana meditation. For ten days I lived among the monks and was fully-focused on meditation—no talking, reading, writing or anything else, really. It was super boring but an amazing experience! They taught me not to think about the past or worry about the future, just live in the now and focus on the little things that make up the present moment: really tasting the food I eat, feeling the sun on my skin and the air I breathe. Obviously I didn't master this amazing skill after only ten days, but I definitely learned a lot from them.

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Have any of you tried a form of meditation before? I'd love to hear about your experiences–whether successful or not—in the comments below!

This story originally appeared on Story Hopper, a collection of design stories worth sharing, squeezed into short videos.